Western Front - 1988 April 26

              Features
Protests, curfews
string balls: part
of Western's past.
pp.6&7
Sports
Losing weekend
for both
lacrosse teams.
p.8
touring Japaneseiriaj
The Western Front Please recycle
Vol.80,No.24 WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, BELLINGHAM, WA TUESDAY, APRIL 26,1988
AS group considers
own coupon books
By Paul Douglas
staff reporter
Associated Students Not For
Profit is considering printing its
own coupon book that would
compete with the current "Stu­dent
Survival Kit." It potentially
could make the organization
about $20,000.
This proposal came after the
group voted against a proposal by
John Gray, director-at-large for
University Services, to accept two
university club cards.
The group gave Gray direc­tion
to look into the possibilities
of creating its own coupon book.
Gray met with printers last
week and is expected to present a
final proposal to the organization
tomorrow.
'Trelim(inary) figures look
good and show a profit of some­where
between $20,000 to $30,000
if things work out," Gray said.
If the proposal is accepted,
the money would be used for
scholarships and possibly one­time
grants, said AS President
Dan Wood. The Helen-Ray Var-ley
scholarship hopefully would be
increased and possibly a minority-retention
scholarship would be set
up, he said.
Gray's original proposal had a
deal with PM Publications and
University Club Card that would
have earned the AS Not For Prof­it
$1,600.
When Gray talked with AS
Bookstore Manager George El­liott
about a contract for the sur­vival
kit, he found none existed.
"The bookstore manager said
we could start our own if we
wanted to," Gray said.
The group voted against the
two card proposal and a motion
was made to accept the club card
deal. It approved this motion.
The club card will pay the AS
group $1,000 to use its club card.
The card will be distributed at fall
quarter registration.
PM Publications would have
printed a survival kit and a club
card, to be distributed in the
bookstore, with $600 going to AS
Not For Profit for using its
coupon book and card.
"We appreciated the op­portunity
to present the card to
the AS Not For Profit and only
regret that we weren't able to
convince them that students
should have more than one op­tion,"
said Rick Giesa, publisher
of PM Publications.
PM Publications, which has
been printing the survival kit for
seven years, will continue to do
so.
"We welcome competition
against our survival kit, but won't
compete against the club card,"
Giesa said.
An AS coupon book would
mean the rival PM Publications
survival kit would not be distrib­uted
in the bookstore, Gray said.
AS election
campaigns
under way
Campaigning has begun for
this year's Associated Students
candidates, as posters are up and
speeches are being prepared for
tomorrow's candidates forum.
Students have an opportunity
to get to know the candidates and
the issues during the campaigning
season, which lasts until the May
3 and 4 elections.
The first speeches will be
given at the candidates forum at
noon tomorrow in the Viking
Union Lounge. Candidates will be
addressing the issues and goals
they believe are important to stu­dents.
Inter Hall Council (IHC) also
is having a forum, where it will
_endqr.se candidates, at 6 p.m.
Thursday in the Ridgeway Red
Room.
Candidates also are being in­terviewed
on KUGS radio FM
89.3 at 9 a.m. tomorrow and
Thursday.
The election board urges stu­dents
to get involved, listen to
speeches and the interviews and
vote.
Students who will not be on
campus to vote on May 3 or 4 can
obtain absentee ballots April 28 in
VU 227 or at the IHC forum.
They are due no later than 5 p.m.
May 2.
Mike Gwynn
Campaigning has begun, the posters are up and the 1988-
89 Associated Students Board of Directors race is on.
Social Security system must change soon, U.S. rep says
By Rich Ellis
staff reporter
Drastic changes have to be
made to the United States' Social
Security system in the next few
years, U.S. Rep. Rod Chandler,
R-Redmond, said Saturday at
Western.
Chandler is concerned about
what will happen to Social
Security when the "baby boom"
generation begins to retire.
Since that generation, the
population has declined and has
leveled off.
He said Social Security tax
will have to be raised in order to
pay the boomers the retiree bene­fits
to which they are entitled.
Today, 15 percent of the aver­age
paycheck goes to Social Se­curity,
Chandler said. That might
raise to 30 percent by 2010.
In 1985, the ratio of workers
paying Social Security to the num­ber
receiving it, was three to one.
Chandler said that is expected to
decrease to a ratio of two to one
by 2010 and less than 1.8 to one
by 2030.
To combat this, Congress is
Dan Tyler
U.S. Rep. Rod Chandler, R-Redmond, spoke Saturday at Western about Social Security problems.
borrowing money to fund the $1.1
trillion Social Security budget,
which is increasing every year.
"You'll have a collision of
generations, which you're already
beginning to see," Chandler said.
He said he doesn't know what
a possible solution might be, but
it has been suggested that the
United States shift from a system
for everyone to one for the less
fortunate.
Chandler doesn't support this
idea yet, but is in the process of
re-drafting a bill that would re­quire
an employer and employee
to pay a specific amount each year
that would accumulate and pay
for any health costs after retire­ment.
The bill, known as the retiree
health plan, would create a tax in­centive
for employers and em­ployees
to put money into a
savings account.
Chandler said this bill would
not solve the problem, "but it's a
tool in solving it."
In addition to social security,
he talked briefly about world af­fairs,
trade, child care and educa­tion.
Chandler, a member of the
House Ways and Means Com­mittee,
the health sub-committee
and the Public Assistance and
Employment Compensation Com­mittee,
visited Western Saturday
on his way to the state Young Re­publicans
convention held at
Nendel's Inn.
Western's Political Science
Club sponsored Chandler's visit.